Tormentor is a Hungarian black metal band formed in 1986 in Budapest. They recorded their first album, Anno Domini, in 1988, but were unable to release it until the end of communist rule in Hungary. The album reached Norway through the tape-trading community.
History Following Per Ohlin's suicide, Mayhem invited Attila Csihar from Tormentor to join the band. He sang on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Tormentor split up in 1991. After a long break, they reformed and released the experimental Recipe Ferrum through Avantgarde Music in 2001, going on a long indefinite hiatus afterwards.
Reunion In 2017, Tormentor reunited after several years for a publicized reunion show on 21 April 2018, in Budapest, followed by an appearance at Brutal Assault in Josefov, Czech Republicb and the Beyond the Gates festival in Bergen, Norway, with later performances at festivals in France and Canada.
The band reunited with Csihar on vocals, Tamás Buday and Attila Szigeti on guitars, bassist György Farkas, and drummer Machat St. Zsoltar. The band's own recording imprint, Saturnus Productions, reissued their debut album Anno Domini and The Seventh Day of Doom demo on CD and vinyl.
Musical style J. Andrew of Metal Injection wrote: "When you consider most of the metal that was prominent in 1989 and Tormentor's relative isolation in Hungary, it's incredible that Anno Domini turned out the way it did. It's a testament to the vibrant tape-trading network that it managed to reach across and back over the Iron Curtain with this album."
Band members
Current line-up Attila Csihar – vocals (1985–1991, 1999–?, 2017–present), guitars (1989) Attila Szigeti – guitars (1985–1991, 2017–present), keyboards (1989) György Farkas – bass guitar (1987–1991, 2017–present) Machat St. Zsoltar Motolla – drums (1988–1991, 1999–?, 2017-present), keyboards (2000)
Former members
Lajos Fazekas– bass guitar (1985–1987) Márton Dubecz – drums (1985–1987) Mugambi Zolduns Bwana – lead guitar (1999–?) Zénó Galóca – bass guitar (1999–?) Tamás Buday – guitars (1985–1988, 2017–2020)
Live members Charles Hedger – guitar (2020–present)
Discography Studio Albums Anno Domini (recorded in 1988; released 1995; from the original master released in 2008) Recipe Ferrum (2000)
Others The 7th Day of the Doom (demo, 1987) Black and Speed Metál (split, 1989) The Sick Years (compilation, 1998) Live in Hell (live, 1999) Live in Damnation (EP, 2000) The Beast of Attila Csihar (compilation, 2003) The Tyrant of Transylvania (EP, 2008) Anno Daemoni (DVD, 2019) Covid WitchFuck (live, 2020)
References